What is deforestation?
Every second 2.4 acres of rainforest, the size of two football fields, is destroyed and cleared (What is Deforestation?). The destroying, cutting, and clearing of forest is known as deforestation. As habitants of this planet, human beings have taken advantage of natural resources the Earth has gifted us, such as trees for wood and water for drinking. However, human beings use these resources to benefit themselves and their daily lives, at the expense of the Earth being negatively affected and neglected. Deforestation has been a tragic event which has impacted the world in where we inhabit. The Amazon, located in Brazil, has the highest annual rate of deforestation. According to Deforestation in the Amazon, “between May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly 150,000 square kilometers of of forest- an area larger than Greece- and since 1970, over 600, 000 square kilometers of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed.”
What are the causes of deforestation?
According to Deforestation in Amazon by Rhett Butler, the causes of deforestation:
• Clearing for cattle ranching
• Colonization and inadequate farming techniques
• Local improvements on land
• Commercial agriculture
• Legal/Illegal logging
What are the impacts of deforestation?
• Extinction of animals- About half of all animal species live in the Amazon, so when the Amazon is faced with threat of deforestation, then the animal and plants are vulnerable to extinctions.
• Biodiversity decreases- When species of animals and plants become extinct, biodiversity in the Amazon decreases because they are less and less different species of animals.
• Soil depletion- Nutrients in the Amazon are found in plants and decomposing litter, so once the area is destroyed and cleared, there is no longer any nutrients in the soil, which makes it impossible to reproduce plant life.
• Social Impacts- The Amazon is home to indigenous people who rely largely on the rainforest for survival. When loggers, colonizers, and refugees perform deforestation, it also causes violet conflict between the two.
• Decrease in resources- The Amazon gives life to the medicine people around the world use. Once that source disappears, there is a sudden decrease in resources, in which could benefit the lives of human beings.
